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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → 3D Printer Discussion → Sharing 3D printer with friends/acquaintances?
Hey all! I'm working on an online project on the side that helps people time share their items. Since 3D printer is rather pricey, I wanted to ask if anyone thought of sharing it the cost and splitting the ownership amongst their friends?
I know logistics can be an issue, but if you had a tool to manage it, would it help?
Appreciate the comments!
TJ
Well currently many people keep their printer in their home, so it could be problematic having people come and go from your house to 3D print things. One alternative is for the person who houses the printer to do all of the physical labor associated with printing, i.e. starting prints, leveling the bed, maintenance, etc. But this is NOT a negligible amount of time, and so this person would be doing more than a free amount of work. Maybe you could pay that person for the effort, but most people would be time-sharing a printer to save money in the first place. Another alternative is to keep the printer in a mutally accessible space, but if this is a public space, you have to worry about theft of services (strangers using the printer) or theft of the printer itself. So yes, to put it simply, logistics can be an issue.
If you found a way to overcome all of that, then "a tool to manage it" is just a basic scheduler. People would block off time on the schedule for their prints, using software estimates of print time (with a healthy buffer for things to go wrong) and ensure that they could be there both at the start and end of their print time for set up and clean up. So I guess what you're proposing is a fancy Excel sheet?
Don't lend or borrow tools.
In a way, that's exactly the kind of thing hackerspaces do.
@Charles_Xavier
Thanks for adding a very detailed post. A tool i'm proposing would help crowdfund the printer then timesharing it online, doing that seemlessly. The timesharing side would include a scheduler, wall posts and even bill splitting. Have you or would you consider sharing a printer?
@Hunter Green
Interesting point, I never thought about that. I'll look up more info on it.
If your asking if I would share MY printer.....NO. I will print things for people but the learning curve of the minor details is too steep for the non dedicated print person to learn/remember. On top of that as we have all seen these printers change as they are used. So if i do the same steps i did when i first got it to print right and then someone else prints 80 hours on it (or multiple people adding up any number of hours) then i come back and do the same steps it will not be the same. 3d printing is just WAY to hands on and involved to toss it out to the masses and the inexperienced to say "go push the start button". Its simply just not that easy
Roger all that, Chuddly. I think he would require a sweaty person at the printer with an oil can, pocket rag and some greasy wrenches to keep it stoked and running.
what it comes down to for me is either you have 1 person do it all (and either you pay him or you dont) and he ALONE will know the little tricks and tips of how to make it work. Or option 2 is let everyone use it and schedule time on it and out of a 2 kg spool of plastic you will have 1.89 kg of waste. and the other will be test cubes you printed to try to get it running right. When asked what you did to get those test cubes to come out right you will answer "hell if i know???".
Its like saying "we want to pool our money together on a drag car because they are expensive but we all want to drive it". Someone will wreck it because they wont know the little quirks it has and then everyone else in the group will be pissed that whoever broke the thing and their "investment" into it is now laying in a smoldering pile at mid track. 3D printing is still in the VERY EARLY stages of getting to the masses and like anything in that stage you have to pay to play. If you dont have the money to go in all alone then my advice is to just wait. Technology will work its self out and it will get to the point you need it to be....but right now its a lone mans game and the buy in for the average guy is steep....but thats your call to make
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